VIP Versailles Bike Tour

“Our Versailles tour was the highlight of an amazing trip to Paris. Our tour guide's tour of the gardens was amazing, lunch was delicious, and the "behind the scenes" portion of the chateau was the best money we spent the entire trip.”

amy, United States

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VIP Versailles Bike Tour

VIP Versailles Bike Tour

Ride All Around Versailles with this VIP Bike Tour

Upon arrival in the town of Versailles, we will ride to the famous city market to shop for our picnic supplies (cost not included). Then, we'll cruise through the Château's enormous grounds along a network of fantastic trails and tree-lined paths, pausing along the way to share the rich history of the palace and French monarchy. Next, it's on to our picnic at the end of the Grand Canal where we'll settle down for a royal feast.

After lunch, we'll continue through the grounds to visit Marie Antoinette's Hamlet and the Petit Trianon. Finally, our bike tour offers you skip-the-line access to the Château to avoid the tremendously long lines. With our special access reservation, you'll get to go behind the scenes to an exclusive section of the palace that is closed off to the general public. You will then enjoy free time to take in the breathtaking Hall of Mirrors, Marie Antoinette's chambers, and the royal quarters. After visiting the palace, you can still enjoy the formal gardens before heading back to Paris. Ride with us and you will explore exponentially more of the 2,000+ acres of royal property than you would ever be able to see on your own.

If you require children's bikes (24", 20", baby seats, trailers, or tandems) and they are not available at the time of check-out, please let us know in the 'comments' section of your booking so that we can contact you to ensure this reservation. There is no additional charge for these.

This tour meets in a small park on Avenue Emile Zola opposite a café named "Café Regalia". The closest métro station is Javel-André Citroën (line 10). Use exit 1 (sortie 1, right side). The easiest taxi address is for the café: 1, Rue de la Convention, 75015 Paris.

Language(s)

English

Good to Know

The tour typically returns to Paris between 5pm & 6pm, but guests are welcome to stay in Versailles longer if they wish.

If possible, please bring a backpack to carry your food for our picnic lunch. We will visit the market upon our arrival to the town of Versailles (price of picnic supplies are not included in the tour price), and then stop for lunch several hours later. Please bring euro cash for market supplies as well.

This tour meets in a small park on Avenue Emile Zola opposite a café named "Café Regalia". The closest métro station is Javel-André Citroën (line 10). Use exit 1 (sortie 1, right side). The easiest taxi address is for the café: 1, Rue de la Convention, 75015 Paris.

Language(s)

English

Good to Know

The tour typically returns to Paris between 5pm & 6pm, but guests are welcome to stay in Versailles longer if they wish.

If possible, please bring a backpack to carry your food for our picnic lunch. We will visit the market upon our arrival to the town of Versailles (price of picnic supplies are not included in the tour price), and then stop for lunch several hours later. Please bring euro cash for market supplies as well.

This tour meets in a small park on Avenue Emile Zola opposite a café named "Café Regalia". The closest métro station is Javel-André Citroën (line 10). Use exit 1 (sortie 1, right side). The easiest taxi address is for the café: 1, Rue de la Convention, 75015 Paris.

Language(s)

English

Good to Know

The tour typically returns to Paris between 5pm & 6pm, but guests are welcome to stay in Versailles longer if they wish.

If possible, please bring a backpack to carry your food for our picnic lunch. We will visit the market upon our arrival to the town of Versailles (price of picnic supplies are not included in the tour price), and then stop for lunch several hours later. Please bring euro cash for market supplies as well.

Tour Highlights

Versailles Open-Air Market

Entrance into Marie Antoinette's Hameau

Entrance into the Grand & Petit Trianons

Picnic Lunch along the Grand Canal

Guided Tour of King Louis XVI's Private Apartments

Skip-the-Line Access to Château de Versailles (complete with audio-guide)

Hall of Mirrors

Access to the Formal Gardens

FAQ

This tour meets in a small park on Avenue Emile Zola opposite a café named "Café Regalia". The closest métro station is Javel-André Citroën (line 10). Use exit 1 (sortie 1, right side). The easiest taxi address is for the café: 1, Rue de la Convention, 75015 Paris.

Please arrive at the meeting point no later than 15 minutes prior to tour time. We do not have the luxury of waiting for guests who are late due to the exclusive and timed nature of our entries including the train journey to Versailles.

Absolutely! Please meet us at the Starbucks (4 Place Lyautey) across from the Rive-Gauche train station at 9:30am and make sure we can reach you by the phone provided at checkout.

When you're making your reservation, leave us a note in the comments section to indicate that you will meet us directly in Versailles. Your guide will pick you up when they arrive in Versailles with the rest of the group.

While all of our tours maintain a leisurely pace, we want our guests to have fun and be safe, so being able to ride a bike is paramount.

Our VIP Versailles Bike Tour is perfect for intermediate-athletic bike riders. We have children join us on this tour all the time so it completely depends on your confidence with a bicycle!

You should have good balance, be able to start and stop comfortably, and be familiar with hand brakes. Although most of this tour takes place in a park there are city riding portions and a few hills. In an effort to see everything that Versailles has to offer, riders should be prepared to keep pace with the group as it covers more ground than many of our other tours. Safety is our number one priority but confidence in yourself is the first step to overall group safety.

If you're not sure how you'll fare, we invite you to try our Paris Night Bike tour first.

Yes! Our VIP Versailles Bike Tour is a wonderful way for kids comfortable on bikes to discover Versailles. We only ask that your children have been riding for a while, or, if they're under 12, you can reserve a tandem for them.

You can use this bike chart to help you reserve the appropriate bicycles for your little ones. Please keep in mind that children under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult on the tour.

For children up to 10 years old or weighing under 32kg (70lbs), we have two-wheeled tag-along tandems. The child passenger sits on a seat and can pedal or coast. All riders weighing over 32kg (70lbs) must ride their own bicycle. This is not an option for adults or anyone over the weight or age limit.

We have various sized city bikes to accommodate just about every size of rider, from extra small 20 inch wheeled bikes for riders that are 3.3ft (100cm) to extra large for riders up to 6.5ft (198cm).

Unfortunately, we do not have adult tricycles, adult tandems, or bikes with training wheels for adults or children that may be less confident in their riding ability.

There is no additional charge for trailers, tandems or baby seats. Due to limited availability, please book baby seats, trailers, tandems, 20” and 24” wheeled bikes in advance.

Please Note: All extra small 20 inch and small 24 inch bikes are equipped with both hand brakes and pedal brakes.

No, lunch is not included in the cost of this tour. You will have the chance to buy picnic supplies from numerous vendors at the market. Some vendors may accept credit cards, however we feel it is best to have cash in euros available as well.

Yes! The tour price includes the RER train to Versailles and the return to Paris.

Your tour will end in Versailles with your skip-the-line access into the chateau, at which point your guide will provide you with your train tickets and directions back to the train station, about a 10-minute walk from the chateau. This allows you the freedom to explore the palace and the formal gardens at your own pace and return to Paris whenever you'd like. Trains run until approximately 11pm.

We request that all guests arrive no later than 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Due to the exclusive and timed nature of our entries and RER tickets, it's imperative that all guests arrive on time. We do not have the luxury of waiting for guests who are running late, or catching them up after the fact.

No! You will get the bikes when you arrive in Versailles. We will then leave the bikes at our Versailles office at the end of the riding portion, giving you the freedom to choose exactly how long you would like to stay in Versailles.

We are happy to offer full refunds for our VIP Versailles Bike Tour if the reservation is cancelled more than 72 hours (3 days) before the scheduled tour. Bookings of 10 or more passengers require seven days notice for cancellations or rescheduling.

Our tours run rain or shine, and we have rain ponchos available for purchase in our office for anyone that needs them. We will gladly buy the ponchos back if they are not used during your tour. We encourage all guests to consult the weather forecast and to dress accordingly.

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What is the number to call if I am lost and trying to find the meeting point?

If you are having difficulty finding the meeting location for your tour, please call us at +33.1.85.08.19.76 and our staff will be happy to help you find your way.

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Is there a reduced price for kids/students/infants/seniors?

Unfortunately, because the entrance tickets we reserve are at an adult rate, we don't incur a discount to pass along to our guests. Infants (ages 0 - 3) are free of cost on all tours.

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My group size is larger than the dropdown menu allows, how can I book?

If you would like to book a larger group, please contact our Private Tours team at [email protected].

Traveler Photos

VIP Versailles Bike Tour Reviews

VIP Versailles Bike Tour is rated
4.5 out of
5 by
78.

Rated 5 out of
5 by
ReneeN from
Great Tour!This was our favorite tour during our Paris trip! Richard from Cambridge was our guide and he was wonderful! He was entertaining and very knowledgeable about the palace and the French monarchy. I loved having the picnic with food bought from the farmers market! The line for the palace was enormous and we bypassed the whole thing and got right in! It was so worth it given that it was over 95 degrees!!

Date published: 2018-08-09

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Colorado Tim from
The VIP Versailles Tour is fantasticHello Fat Tire Tours.
Just a quick note to tell you about what a wonderful and fun day we had with Cam', from Australia on our VIP tour of Versailles, August 5th.
Cam' is a riot, knows how to read a crowd and have fun with diverse groups - which we were, families, two gay couples, teenagers, middle-aged people, all with varying cycling abilities. He was fun, knowledgeable, easy to hear, gave us plenty of insider tips, showed us around areas of Versailles not on the typical itinerary (we were early, so we had some extra time), he offered clear instructions, he kept things moving on time, was super helpful (and changed a flat on one guest's bike in seven minutes) and above all, managed the tour exceedingly well on a sweltering day. Cam' understands service and hospitality. His warmth, humility, and professionalism were superb. Later that day, back in Paris at dinner with my friends (we were a group of eight on this tour), the dinner conversation about the day had Cam' as the high point of the whole day.
This is the second time I've done a tour with Fat Tire and you guys nail this. Keep up the great work. I had a wonderful time.
Tim in Denver, Colorado

Date published: 2018-08-08

Rated 5 out of
5 by
Vectraviolet from
Amazing way to tour VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles was at the top of my list for places to visit. When I saw the VIP Bike Tour, I knew it was a must. Our tour guide, Richard, was amazing. You could really tell he loved his job. He was a great story teller and made history come alive. The amount of biking was perfect. If I'm being honest I could have done more but it was a nice change for our tired feet. It was a fantastic was to see not only of the city of Versailles but the gardens as well. The market we visited for our picnic supplies was super cute and very reasonable. Bring cash because it gives you more time to shop in the market. The private tour at the end was great because we got to skip the line into the entrance of the palace!

Date published: 2018-07-23

Rated 5 out of
5 by
TomF from
Awesome day!Our whole family of 4 (kids ages 18 and 14) really enjoyed the day. The pace was very easy and relaxed, and our guide was outstanding and delivered a lot of information in a form that was easy to understand and absorb . Highly recommended